The Athletic have revealed that while Tottenham remain the clear favourites to land Brennan Johnson, Nottingham Forest expect the deal to drag on until quite late in the transfer window.
On Monday, The Times claimed that Spurs were edging closer to agreeing a deal for Johnson after opening talks with Forest over the 22-year-old.
The outlet asserted that Forest expect the Lilywhites to meet their £50m valuation of the player before Friday night’s transfer deadline.
Spurs’ first offer for Brennan Johnson was rejected
The Athletic have now stated that while Tottenham are in pole position to secure Johnson’s services, Forest already turned down a player plus cash offer from the North London club for the Wales international earlier this summer.
It is revealed that Spurs offered £20m plus Davinson Sanchez in exchange for the forward, and were also willing to include other players in the deal, but Forest did not find the offer to be satisfactory.
With Steve Cooper’s side said to have concerns over falling foul of FFP rules, they are expected to cash in on Johnson if their valuation is met over the coming days.
However, the report alleges that Forest expect Tottenham to leave the deal quite late, as is Daniel Levy’s preference.
Spurs Web Opinion
Tottenham would not have included Sanchez in their initial offer if Forest had not shown an interest in the Colombian. With the 27-year-old still remaining at Spurs despite attracting plenty of interest from around, there remains a big chance that he will indeed head to the City Ground as part of the Johnson deal.